Rolly-polly

I was taking the trash out early this afternoon. My head was bowed down under the weight of the soggy bag when I noticed a rolly-polly making his way across the sidewalk.

Now, rolly-pollies don't like sunlight. They in fact prefer the moist underbelly of a stone or rotting piece of wood. But this little guy was making his way across a grand expanse of concrete with a sure stride. He looked so small, so far away from my position in the sky. He didn't seem to notice that I was there.

Suddenly, it came to me. The grandest 'what-if' that I've had in the longest time: Invisible giants - they must exist - it would explain everything.

This world is not our world. What if, just as I walked unnoticed above the rolly-polly, there were giants walking unnoticed above us? When they are standing, we are forced to make life decisions and choose different paths around their foot or leg. When they chance to step upon us, tragedy strikes. Our brains detach. It would explain all those stupid choices: not stopping at the red light, choosing the red pill, standing to watch the car come upon you as you crossed the street. Our brains sometimes leave us. What if this were evidence of a giant stepping on us?

And suddenly, a swath of imagines unfolds before me... Worms trapped on dry sidewalks. Spider webs in the mist of a lonesome morning. Centipedes speeding across my fingers. My finger bleeding from the bite of a Praying Mantis. A Robin's beak crunching upon a grasshopper.

An exoskeleton. I wish I had one. I wish I had tougher skin. My dad once told me: Grow thicker skin, Katie. The world hurts. Tougher skin would help.